New Zealand were probably always the likeliest out of themselves, Australia and India to fail to qualify from Group A, and although that is indeed what happened after they finished third with a record of two wins and two defeats, they could very conceivably have finished top of the group with a record of four wins, as their defeat v India on Thursday was by 3 runs, while their defeat v Australia today was by 4 runs.

Begrudging congratulations to the unconvincing Aussies and the ever so lucky Indians on reaching Sunday's International Ladies Day Final.
Commiserations to the brave English girls so cruelly eliminated, and the gallant Proteas whose ambition exceeded their ability, and who we shall miss not least for their wonderful. names, Captain Van Kneejerk, the dark and mysterious Voldermort, the predictable Loose, the ever communicative email and Khaka whose bowling today was synonymous with her name.
It's been a pleasure, we love you all and wish you good luck in your future cricket endeavors.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2020 16:46 by Gezza of the middle.

It was a cruel way for England to exit this tournament, but I am not sure whether I can have much complaint about the fact that India qualified at England’s expense due to India having won their group. Still, it would have been great had there been a reserve day available. No doubt, some people will feel that England were due to be on the wrong end of the regulations after what happened in the final of the men’s 50-over World Cup in 2019, when a strong argument could be made that New Zealand should have won after losing fewer wickets, or that Ben Stokes shouldn’t have received anywhere near six runs for his diving header towards the Warner stand (did the batsmen cross for two? was it morally right that runs for the overthrow should have been awarded?), or that a second Super Over should have taken place after the first was tied. On that occasion, the way cricket is worked against England, but today was the opposite side of the coin.

However, some salt was rubbed into the wound when today’s other semi-final not only took place, but also saw victory for the team who would have been eliminated in the event of a wash-out, namely Australia. The other disappointing aspect of that match seeing play is that a wash-out would have seen another reversal of fortunes compared to something which happened in a previous 50-over men’s World Cup, as the famous semi-final in 1999 between Australia and South Africa at Edgbaston saw Australia advance after the match was tied due to them having finished ahead in the Super Six stage, whereas a wash-out today would have seen South Africa advance.

I felt that the worst effect of England’s defeat in their opening match v South Africa would have been that it got their tournament off to a bad start and would give them a bit of a mountain to climb in their remaining group matches, but I didn’t envisage that the result would ultimately eliminate England from the tournament.

This tournament will end how it started, with Australia playing India.

Congratulations to Australia. They were always well-fancied to win this tournament on home soil, and they bounced back from defeat in the opening match v India to beat them in the final.

Even though Australia’s campaign started with defeat, I would have thought that they spent their whole campaign amongst the favourites and with it seemingly written in the stars that they would lift the trophy, which makes it amazing to think that they would have exited the tournament without playing had their semi-final v South Africa been rained-off, like India v England was earlier that day. Had the semi-finals been played in the opposite order, then England would have had a good chance of beating India to progress to a final v South Africa which - despite what happened in the group stage - England would have been favourites to win. Maybe England will win next time around.

Just like this tournament, the 2017 50-over World Cup in England also saw India win their opening match against the hosts, only to then lose to the hosts in the final.

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